Ribbed insole



Patented Sept. 23, 1947 RIBBED INSOLE Hans C. Paulsen, Medford, Mass,assignor to B. B. ChemicalCo, Boston, Mass, a corporation ofMassachusetts Application October 22, 1945, Serial No. 623,696-

16 Claims. 1i

This invention relates-to insoles and, more particularly, to insolesprovided with sewing ribs and to strips for use in forming sewing ribson insoles to adapt them for use in the manufacture of welted shoes.

An important object of the present invention is to provide animprovedinsole of relatively thin material having-a strong'upstandingsewing rib permanently attached to its outer surface. A further objectof the invention is to provide improved strips for use informing sewingribs on insoles.

To the accomplishment of these objects, the invention provides, inaccordance with one-aspect, an improved-insole comprisinganinsole-shaped body of relatively thin materialprovidedonits outersurface with a sewing ribwhich extends around themarginal portion ofsaid insole body; The sewing rib, as herein illustrated, comprises anintegral strip'of flexible sheet material folded to form a four-ply ribhaving integral flanges extending from opposite sides thereof.

The strip, as illustrated herein; is coated'on one side with cement,preferably a pressureresponsive cement, and the folding is done in adirectionto' bring the cemented surface against itself to cause thelayers to adhere to each other to form a two-ply layer. The two-plylayer is then folded to produce afour-ply portion" with remainingportions of the strip extending there'- from. In order to hold the pliesof the four-ply portion together, stitches are inserted into saidportion, the stitches passing through at least three plies thereof. Thestitches also establish a lineof division between the four-ply portionand the remaining portions-of the-strip projecting therefrom. The stripis now ready to be attached to an insole body toprovide a sewing ribthereon.

In attaching the strip to the insole body, the four-ply portion is bentupwardly substantially at right angles to the plane of said insole bodyto provide a four-ply upstanding sewing rib and the remaining portionsof the strip, which proe ject from the four-ply portion,aresimultaneously pressed flat against the surfaceof the insole-body atopposite sides of the rib'to form integral inner and outer flanges, theouter flange preferably terminating at, or a short distancesinward'lyof, the edge of' the insole body and the inner flange covering asubstantial. portion of. said insole body inwardly of the rib;

The integral ribbed. strip, asherein illustrated, is attached to theouter surface of the. insole body by means of the pressure-responsivecement on the strip and a band of cement, preferably the samekind J ofcement, extending around the marginal portionofsaid outer surface.Theattachment ofthe ribbed strip to the insole body is particularlystrong by reason of the wide inner flange which not only helps to securethe strip permanently to the insole body butserves also to reinforcesaid insole body. The outer: flange assists in maintaining them'ulti-ply rib in its upstanding position orin returning the rib to suchposition if it is bent outwardly during the lasting orinseamin-goperations in the. manufacture of the shoe. The illustrated rib is welladapted-to receive stitches, staples orother fastening. means which maybe used in the operationsreferred to and, owingto the fact that the riband flanges are integral, there is practically no danger of 'the ribtearing away from the flanges under the strains exerted-by the upperduring or after the lasting and inseaming operations.

In accordance with anotheraspect, the invention provides an improvedribbed strip for use in forming sewing ribs on insoles comprising asingle strip of flexible sheet material of indefinite length foldedtoprovide a four-ply portion or rib extending lengthwise of thestrip andhaving portions extending therefrom whichform integral flangesatopposite sidesof the rib, the lower surfacesof said flanges being coatedwith cement, preferably a pressure-responsive cement.

The above and other features and aspects of the invention-,- includingmodifications of the ribbed strip, will appear'more fully from thefollowing detailed description when read in connection withthea'ccompanying drawings and will thereafter-be pointed out in theclaims.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is an end view of a'single strip of sheet material foldedover-and stitched to-iorm a fourply portion;

Fig; 2 is a plan View of an end portion of the strip;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view on a reduced scale illustrating. how thestripmay be wound-upon a reel for shipment after it has been folded andstitched;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the strip attached to an insole withthefour-ply portion turned upwardly to form a sewing rib.

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectionalviewof the insole and strip onthe'scaleshown. in Fig.- 1, the section'beingtaken onthe 1ine'VV of Fig.4;

Fig. 6 is an. end view similar to Fig. 1 showing a modified form ofstrip;

Fig. '7 is a sectional view of an insole, similar to Fig. 5, with thestrip of Fig. 6 attached thereto;

Fig. 8 is an end view of another modified form of strip;

Fig. 9 is a sectional view of an insole shoWing the strip of Fig. 8attached thereto;

Fig. 10 is an end view of another modification of the folded strip;

Fig. 11 is a sectional view of an insole showing the strip of Fig. 10attached thereto;

Fig. 12 is an end view of still another modified form of folded strip;

Fig. 13 is a sectional view of an insole showing the strip of Fig. 12attached thereto;

Fig. 14 is an inverted end view of a further modification of the foldedstrip; and

Fig. 15 is a sectional View of an insole with the strip of Fig. 14attached thereto.

In making the integral ribbed strip of the present invention forproviding sewing ribs on insoles. a relatively wide strip S ofindefinite length is provided composed of a single strip of flexiblesheet material, such as Gem duck, canvas or similar fabric, the lowersurface of the strip, as viewed in Fig. 1, being coated with cement C,preferably a pressure-responsive cement such as rubber cement, neoprene,latex or other cements comprising synthetic rubber-like materials. Thestrip is folded, as illustrated in Fig. 1, to form a fourply portion Rwhich is subsequently to form the sewing rib, the portion R extendinglengthwise of the strip along one margin thereof. The remaining portionsof the strip extend from one side of the four-ply portion after folding,these remaining portions in Fig. 1 comprising a single ply layer I and atwo-ply layer F.

After the strip has been foldedas described, a row of stitches isinserted into the four-ply portion R, the stitches passing through allfour plies and securing the plies permanently together and alsoestablishing a line of division between the portion R and the remainingportions I and F extending therefrom. As illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2,the strip is initially folded so that the cemented lower surface isbrought against itself thereby causing the layers to adhere to eachother to form a two-ply layer which is then folded again to form thefour-ply layer R which, in turn, is secured together by the stitches 20.The strip S in the condition shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is ready forattachment to an insole and may be wound upon a reel 22, as illustratedin Fig. 3, to facilitate handling the strip or shipping it tomanufacturers.

The strip S is attached to an insole 24, as illustrated in Fig. 4, thestrip being fed from the reel 22 and applied progressively to the outersurface of the insole by a machine adapted to attach the strip, such amachine being disclosed in Letters Patent of the United States No.2,383,560, granted August 28, 1945, upon an application filed in myname, although other machines may be used if desired. As the foldedstrip S is fed from the reel 22, the four-ply portion R passes through aguide on the machine which bends said portion upwardly along the line ofstitches 20 substantially at right angles to the body of the insole, themachine simultaneously pressing the integral flange portions I and F ofthe strip against the insole to provide an insole having an upstandingfour-ply sewing rib R having integral inner and outer flanges I and F,the outer flange F terminating substantially at the edge of the insolearound the forepart thereof and terminating a short distance inwardly ofthe edge of the insole at its shank portion. The inner flange I, asshown in Fig. 4, preferably covers a substantial portion of the insolebody inwardly of the rib and thus provides a strong bond between thestrip and the insole as Well as serving to reinforce the insole body inplace of an overall canvas reinforcement which is sometimes used on thinflexible insoles of relatively cheap material. The outer surface of theinsole 24 is provided with a band of cement 26, preferably apressure-responsive cement of the same type as is applied to the lowersurface of the strip, so that when the strip is fed to the insole by theribbed-strip-attaching machine, the flanges F and I will adhere firmlyto the insole body as they are pressed against said body by the machine.The ribbed strip extends around the marginal portion of the insole fromapproximately the heel-breast line at one side thereof to the heelbreastline at the opposite side. The machine is provided with a cut-off knifewhich severs the strip at the heel-breast line after it has beenattached to the insole body as described. As illustrated in Fig. 1, theouter flange F of the strip consists of a two-ply layer while the wideinner flange I comprises a single-ply layer.

Figs. 6 and 7 illustrate a modified form of ribbed strip S which may beused to provide a sewing rib on insoles. The strip of Fig. 6 is foldedover, as described above, to form a two-ply layer which, in turn, isfolded to form a four-ply layer R having two two-ply layers F and Iextending from one side thereof. Stitches 2!] are inserted through thefour-ply layer R. to hold the plies together and form a line of divisionbetween the portion R and the extending portions F and I. The strip isattached to an insole 24, as illustrated in Fig. 7, the four-ply portionR forming the upstanding rib and the two two-ply portions F and Iforming outer and inner flanges, respectively, integral with the rib,the two-ply outer flange F terminating inwardly of the edge of theinsole at the shank portion, as shown in Fig. 7, and the two-ply innerflange I. together with a single ply portion K of the strip, covering asubstantial portion of the insole body inwardly of the rib R.Pressure-responsive cement C is provided on the lower surface of thestrip and, when brought into contact with the same kind of cement on theinsole body, causes the ribbed strip to become permanently attached tosaid insole body.

The strips illustrated in Figs. 8 to 15, inclusive, are modifications ofthe strips shown in Figs. 1 to '7. The strip S of Fig. 8 haspressure-responsive cement C on its upper surface and is folded over atone margin to form a four-ply layer R, a two-ply layer T being firstformed and secured by stitches 28, after which the remaining portions ofthe strip are folded back upon the two-ply layer to form the four-plylayer R. As shown in Fig. 8, stitches 20 are inserted through thefourply layer R and the remaining portions of the strip extend outwardlyfrom one side of the four-ply layer to form single ply inner and outerflanges I and F integral with the rib R. The ribbed strip S is attachedto the insole 24, as shown in Fig. 9.

In Fig. 10, the strip is folded to form a threeply portion R havingsingle-ply portions I and F projecting from the opposite sides thereof.Stitches 20 secure the three plies of the portion R. together. The stripis applied to the insole 24, as shown in Fig. 11, the portion I formingthe fourth ply of the rib R and theremaining portion thereof forming anintegral single my inner flange I. The pressure-responsive cement C onthe bottomsu'rface of the strip' and the same kind of cement '26 on theinsole causes the ribbed strip toad-here permanently to the Outersurface of the insole, as shown in Fig. 11.

In 12,'the strip Sis folded to form a fourply layer R having twosingle-ply'layers F and I projecting from one side thereof. Stitches 20secure the four plies of the portion R together. The ribbed strip isattached to the insole 24, as shown in Fig. 13, the single-ply portion Fforming the outer flange and the wide single-ply portion I formingtheinner flange.

Figs, 14 and 15 illustrate a further modification of the ribbedstrip. Asshown in Fig. 14, the strip S is folded to form a three-ply portion Rhaving a single-ply layer F extending from one side thereof and a widesingle-ply layer I extending from the opposite side thereof.Pressure-responsive cement C is on the upper or at taching surface ofthe strip, as viewed in Fig. 14. Stitches secure the three plies of therib together. The strip is applied to an insole 25, as illustrated inFig. 15, the single-ply portion F forming the outer flange and the widesingle-ply portion I forming the inner flange. The cement C and 26 onthe strip and ins01e body, respectively, causes the strip to adherepermanently to said insole body.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. An insole comprising an insole-shaped body, a sewing rib extendingaround the marginal portion of said insole body, said rib consisting ofa single integral strip of sheet material folded to form a four-plyportion with the remaining portions of the strip extending from oppositesides of said four-ply portion, said four-ply portion extendingsubstantially at right angles to said insole body to form an upstandingrib, and said remaining portions forming inner and outer flangesintegral with the rib, said flanges being secured by cement alone to themarginal portion only of the insole-shaped body.

2. An insolecomprisin'g an insole-shaped body, a sewing rib secured tothe marginal portion of said insole body, said rib consisting of asingle strip of flexible sheet material folded to form a four-plyportion with the remaining portions of the strip extending from oppositesides thereof,

said four-ply portion extending substantially at right angles to theinsole body to form a fourply upstanding sewing rib, and said remainingportions being secured flat against the marginal portion of said insolebody to form inner and outer flanges integral with the rib, said innerflange covering a substantial portion of the insole body but leaving thecentral portion thereof uncovered.

3. An insole comprising an insole-shaped body, a sewing rib secured tothe marginal portion only of said body by cement alone, said ribconsisting of a single integral strip of sheet material folded over uponitself to form a four-ply portion extending lengthwise of the strip,said four-ply portion extending substantially at right angles to theremaining portions of the strip with its plies in contact with eachother throughout to provide a solid upstanding f our-ply rib, said.remaining portions forming inner and outer flanges integral with therib, and stitches extending through the four-ply rib for holding theplies permanently in contact with each other.

4. An insole comprising an insole-shaped body, a sewing rib secured tothe marginal portion only of the outer surface of the insole body, saidrib consisting of a single integral strip of flexible sheet material aportion of which is foldedover upon itself to form a four-ply portionextending lengthwise of the strip, said four-ply portionbeing locatedbetween the opposite margins ofthe strip and extending substantially atright angles to the plane of the insole body to provide an upstandingfour-ply rib, the marginal portions of the strip at opposite sides ofthe rib forming inner and outer flanges integral with the rib, andcement between plies of the rib for holding said plies in engagementwith each other throughout the height of the rib.

5. An insole comprising an insole-shaped body, a sewing rib extendingaround the marginal. portion of said' body, said rib consisting of anintegral strip of flexible sheet material folded to form a four-plyportion extending lengthwise of the strip with the plies in contact witheach other throughout said portion, said four-ply portion being locatedat an intramarginal portion of the strip and extending substantially atright angles to the body of the insole to provide an upstanding four-plysolid rib integral with the strip, lateral portions of the strip at eachside of said rib forming integralinner and outer flanges at the base ofthe rib, stitches extending through the'multiply rib for holding theplies together, and: cement between said inner and outer flangesand. themarginalportion only of the body. of the insole for securing theribpermanently to said marginal portion.

6. An insole comprising ani-nsole-shapedxbody having a substantially.smooth outer surface, a sewing rib secured to the marginal portiononlyof said outer surface, said rib consisting of a single integral strip ofsheet material folded. over to form a four-ply portion extendinglengthwise of the strip with plies in continuous contact with eachother, said four-ply portion being located between the opposite marginsof the strip. and extending substantially at right angles to. saidmargins to provide a four-ply. upstanding rib,- said margins forminginner and outer flanges at the base of the rib integral with said rib,and stitches passing through at least three plies of the rib for holdingthe plies permanently together.

7. An insole comprisingan insole-shaped body, a sewing rib secured tothe marginal portion only of said body by cement alone, said ribconsisting of a single integral strip of flexible sheet material foldedover upon itself to form a two-ply outer flange, a four-ply rib and aninner flange comprising only a single-ply throughout its width, saidfour-ply rib being positioned substantially at right angles to thetwo-ply and single-ply flanges to provide an upstanding four ply ribintegral with said flanges, and stitches passing through at least threeplies of the rib.

8. An insole comprising an insole-shaped body, a sewing ribextendingaround the marginal portion only of the insole body, said rib consistingof a single integral strip of flexibl sheet material folded'over uponitself to form a two-ply portion extending lengthwise of the strip, saidtwo-ply portion being folded over upon itself to form a four-ply portionadjacent to one margin of the strip and having a two-ply layer and asingle layer projectin therefrom, said four-ply portion extending atright angles to the two-ply and single layers to provide an upstandingfour-ply rib, said two-ply layer forming an integral outer flange at thebase of the rib and said single layer forming an integral inner flangeat the base of said rib, said outer flange terminating at, or a shortdistance inwardly from, the edge of the insole body and said innerflange covering a substantial portion of the insole body inwardly of therib but leaving a portion of said insole body uncovered, stitchesextending through said rib adjacent to its base and passing through allfour plies thereof, and cement between said inner and outer flanges andthe insole body for securing the rib Dermanently to said insole body.

9. An insole comprising an insole-shaped body, a sewing rib secured tothe marginal portion only of said body, said rib consisting of a singleintegral strip of sheet material folded over upon itself to form atwo-ply layer, a, portion of said two-ply layer being folded over uponitself to form a four-ply layer having two two-ply layers extending fromopposite sides thereof, said fourply layer being located substantiallyat right angles to the two-ply layers to'provide an integral upstandingfour-ply rib, said two-ply layers forming integral inner and outerflanges at the base of said rib, the upper ply of said inner flangeextending inwardly beyond the inner flange to cover a substantialportion of the insole body inwardly of said flange but not the entireinsole body inwardly of the rib, and stitches in the rib passing throughat least three plies thereof for securing the plies together.

10. An insole comprising an insole-shaped body, a sewing rib extendingaround the marginal portion only of the insole body, said rib consistingof a single integral strip of sheet material a portion of which isfolded over upon itself widthwise to form a two-ply layer, part of saidtwo-ply layer being folded over upon itself widthwise to form a four-plyportion, said four-ply portion being located substantially at rightangles to the remaining portions of the strip to provide an integralupstanding four-ply rib, said remaining portions consisting of theportions of said two-ply layer located at opposite sides of saidfour-ply portion, one of said two-ply layers having a single-ply portionextending beyond it, said two-ply layers forming integral inner andouter flanges at the base of the four-ply rib and said single-plyextending portion forming an extension of said inner flange and coveringa substantial portion of the insole body inwardly of said flange butleaving the central portion of the inside body exposed, stitches passingthrough the rib adjacent to its base for holding the plies together inan upstanding position, and pressure-responsive cement between theinsole body and said inner and outer flanges including the single-plyextension of the inner flange for securing the strip permanently to theinsole body.

11. An insole comprising an insole-shaped body, a sewing rib secured tothe marginal portion only of the insole body by cement alone, said ribconsisting of a single integral strip of flexible sheet material foldedto form a two-ply layer, portions of the layers of said two-ply layerbeing folded back again upon themselves to form a four-ply portionhaving two single-ply layers projecting from opposite sides thereof,said four-ply portion being located substantially at right angles to thesingle-ply layers to provide an upstanding fourply rib, said single-plylayers forming inner and outer flanges integral with said rib, andstitches inserted in the rib and passing through at least 8 three pliesthereof for holding the plies together.

12. A ribbed strip for attachment; to insoles to provide sewing ribsthereon comprising a single integral stripof flexible sheet materialfolded to form a four-ply rib with flanges integral with the ribextending from opposite sides thereof.

13. A strip for providing sewing ribs on insoles comprising a singleintegral strip of sheet material folded over upon itself to form afour-ply portion extending lengthwise of the strip, said four-plyportion being located at one margin of the strip with the remainingportions of the strip projecting therefrom, said four-ply portion beingadapted to be turned substantially at right angles to said remainingportions to provide an upstanding four-ply rib, and said remainingportions being adapted to form integral flanges at opposite sides of thebase of said rib, the lower surfaces of said flanges having drypressure-responsive cement thereon whereby the strip is adapted to bepermanently secured to the outer surface of an insole.

14. A strip for providing sewing ribs on insoles comprising a singleintegral strip of flexible sheet material folded over upon itself toform a fourply portion extending lengthwise of the strip with theremaining portions of the strip projecting from said four-ply portion,said four-ply portion being adapted to be turned upwardly substantiallyat right angles to said remaining portions to provide an upstandingfour-ply rib, said remaining portions being adapted to form integralinner and outer flanges at the base of said rib,

and cement between the plies of said rib for hold-' ing said plies inengagement with each other throughout the entire rib.

15. A strip for providing sewing ribs on insoles comprising a singleintegral strip of sheet material a marginal portion of which is foldedover upon itself to form a two-ply layer, said layer being folded overupon itself again to form a four-ply layer having a two-ply layer and asingle-ply layer extending therefrom, stitches extending through thefour-ply layer, said fourply layer being adapted to be turned upwardlyalong the line of stitches substantially at right angles to the two-plyand single-ply layers to provide an upstanding four-ply rib, saidtwo-ply layer being adapted to form an outer flange at the base of saidrib integral therewith when the latter is turned upwardly, and saidsingle-ply layer being adapted to form an integral inner flange at saidbase, the outer flange being approximately equal in width to the featherportion of the insole and the inner flange being considerably wider thansaid outer flange but narrower than the portion of the insole which liesinside the rib.

16. A strip for providing sewing ribs on insoles comprising a singleintegral strip of flexible sheet material a marginal portion of which isfolded over upon itself widthwise to form a two-ply layer, said two-plylayer being folded over upon itself again to form a four-ply layerhaving two two-ply layers extending from one side thereof with the upperply of one of said two-ply layers projecting beyond said two-ply layer,stitches passing through said four-ply layer and separating said layerfrom said two-ply layers, said fourply layer being adapted to be turnedupwardly along the line of stitches substantially at right angles to thetwo-ply layers to provide a four-ply upstanding rib integral with saidtwo-ply layers, said two-ply layers being adapted to form integral innerand outer flanges at the base of the rib 10 when it is turned upwardly,the two-ply layer having the extending upper layer forming the UNITEDSTATES PATENTS inner flange, said upper layer extending inwardly NumberName Date beyond said inner flange and being adapted to 361,350 EatonJuly 30 1907 cover a substantial portion of the insole body 5 1,147,787Corson July 1915 inwardly of the 1,198,101 Brackett Sept. 12, 1916 HANSPAULSEN- 1,227,483 Murphy et al. May 22, 1917 1,298, 56 Arlidge Mar. 25,1919 REFERENCES CITED 1,895,709 Emerson Jan. 31, 1933 The followingreferences are of record in the 10 1,842,838 Poole Jan. 26, 1932 file ofthis patent:

